Not your ordinary family
by melinda08
Summary: After first losing her mother, then her biological father, Erin lashes out. She's lost, confused, and what could be considered just a typical teenager. But as neither of her two fathers were typical, it would take the help of some old friends to help Hawkeye raise his daughter. FOR TODASH...mild slash implied, but a love/family/friendship tale
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: this story is dedicated to Todash aka B.A. Tyler. I have learned so much from her writing, from working on grammar to being unafraid to tell the story you need to tell sometimes. **

Erin was sixteen, pretty as a picture, tall, smart...and like all teenagers, she'd been extremely moody lately. Yes, Hawkeye knew why, but as he was so buried in his own grief, he'd kinda just assumed that it was a phase.

The truth was, this was a phase. They were all going through a phase. Just four months earlier, BJ, beloved father, lifepartner to Hawkeye Pierce, physician, Korean War Vet, friend, the funniest person either Erin or Hawkeye had ever known...BJ, the man they both loved more than life itself, had left them.

And it wasn't for another man, woman, person alive. Being a dedicated physician, he took a late night call to rush to the ER. BJ had been tired, but not too tired. The other driver- tired, but not only too tired, but extremely intoxicated. The hell of the thing was, that driver made it. BJ was another story in and of itself.

Hawkeye really, really wanted her to attend her father's funeral. Of course, loss was part of life, and being a Vet himself, he'd seen more than his share of funerals in his lifetime. But that was just boy #205 back in Korea, sent home to his family, never to be thought of again by the MASH unit.

This was BJ Hunicutt, heart of the 4077, and the surviving vets all made damn sure they'd get to Crabapple Cove by plane, train , bicycle, or if need be, by hitchhiking.

But the night before the service, Erin had snuck out of her house, and Hawkeye had been torn between finding the troubled girl or making sure that the love of his life got his proper tribute by those who'd loved him best.

As he was at the leader of that list, he chose to go to the funeral.

He wasn't sure it was the right thing to do, but in a moment of grief, one's judgment tends to be a little clouded, even to someone as smart and bright and knowing as Hawkeye Pierce. Margaret had taken him aside to let him know how sorry she was, how she'd just adored BJ...and where was Erin?

Hawkeye really hadn't been too sure how to handle that, and Margaret was quick enough and insightful enough to know that if Hawkeye was silent, even for a second, something was wrong.

So Margaret placed her arm around Hawkeye and they went outside. In the light of day, something happened that Margaret hoped she would never, ever see. In the light of day, it was quite easy to see the light in Hawkeye's eyes, the light that had made the whole unit laugh, cry, crazy with anger, calm and collected- that light was gone.

Margaret sat down with Hawkeye on the steps of the funeral home- no church would offer them a church reception, so they made do with what they had. But as Hawkeye leaned against her, and for the first time that she could remember, well, since that awful day in Korea, she saw that Hawkeye was lost again, maybe this time, for good.

"Hey, maybe Erin went to her mom's house," Margaret tried a different approach, anything to distract him from his grief over BJ.

"We haven't talked in a real, long, time, have we?" Hawkeye said sullenly, not even looking at

her.

"I don't understand what that's got to do with..."

"Peg's in Oklahoma. After Erin turned ten and told her mom firmly that she wanted to live with Beej and I full time, Peg got mad. So mad, she married the first salesman she met at a bar, and they took off. Erin hasn't seen her since," Hawkeye sighed.

Margaret stared at him in disbelief. How could any mother turn their back on their own daughter? Yes, she could kind of understand why Peg might be hurt. But Peg hadn't been in Korea. She hadn't seen Hawkeye and BJ together. But Margaret had, and if she could just get her hands on that so called mother of Erin's, she would be more than happy to make things all too clear to her.

Instead, Margaret turned her fury to compassion. "Erin's lucky to have you. I know how much BJ loved that little girl. Remember in Korea?" she smiled. "It was Erin this, Erin that. You would have thought that a little infant girl had found the cure for polio or something."

Even Hawkeye had to smile.

"You know the only other person- the only other person- who we ever seen Hunicutt get that excited over in normal conversation? You. It was you. He loved you, Hawkeye. I know you two didn't take the easy way, but you followed your hearts. Me, all my life, I've followed my daddy's orders. But you, you and BJ...you had something so real, so special, you almost had to be there to believe it. But trust me, buckaroo, I was there. We all were. We all knew."

Hawkeye, the one time unofficial leader, the moral compass (in an extremely unlikely way) of the 4077 just stared at Margaret, speechless.

She held him closer and ran her hands through his hair. "We'll find Erin. We will. Crabapple Cove is every bit a small town as you always said it was. Come on, Pierce. Right now, BJ needs you. We need you."

Hawkeye took a deep breath, wiped his eyes, and allowed Margaret to lead him into the funeral home, where his biggest nightmare was awaiting him.

tbc


	2. Chapter 2

So Hawkeye took off his formal jacket and removed his pants, to the shock of the crowd that had gathered for the solemn occasion. What had Hawkeye up his sleeves this time?

The robe. Of course. It was worn, tattered, faded so badly that even the youngest of the surviving 4077 unit had to strain their eyes to be sure, but yes, in fact, it was BJ's robe that his life partner now bore for his funeral.

Even the hard-nosed, tough as a bird, girls-don't-cry- Margaret Houlihan was hard-pressed not to tear up.

Klinger, actually dressed in his army fatigues, removed his hat and just stared at the floor. Soon-Li took his hand, but in that moment, not even the comfort of his loving wife's hand could provide any kind of solace for Maxwell Klinger. To his friends and family back in Toledo, Ohio (yes, he'd finally made it back!) he was Maxwell, or Max, or Daddy- but to the 4077 unit he would always be Klinger.

Radar and his wife Susie sat near Klinger, fitting as it had been Klinger who'd taken Radar's place, at least the place of his job duties, after Radar'd been discharged. There could never be anyone, even the beloved Klinger, who could take the place of Radar. Boy, that was a lesson Klinger'd sure learned.

Father Mulcahy would be officiating the service. Of course, it was no official "funeral"- no church would have BJ or Hawkeye. Even Father Mulcahy had struggled for a long time after learning of his friends' partnership. But ultimately, the God that Padre believed in could not or would not condone hatred of anyone, regardless of their orientation.

To the surprise of everyone in that room, Charles Winchester the third even made a rare appearance. He'd skipped all of the past reunions for his own personal reasons. But as in Korea, when push came to shove, humanity and decency won over his own snobbery, and if for no other reason for him to appear, it was simply the right thing to do.

Sidney, of course, was there. Sitting from a distance, not wanting to bring back any hurtful memories for Hawkeye. He'd retired from psychiatry; he was simply there as a friend and fellow war veteran. Most of all, though, he was there as a friend.

Mulcahy stood up to speak, when the doors opened yet again. BJ's family had long disowned him, not even caring to check in on Erin on holidays or birthdays. It was as if BJ's love for Hawkeye somehow prevented them from loving their own flesh and blood, Erin Hunicutt.

Every jaw dropped as the crowds turned around. Who should appear but none other than Frank Marion Burns-aka Ferret Face? Even Hawkeye was truly speechless at the appearance of his and BJ's and Trapper's and, well, pretty much everyone's nemesis. Frank looked around, obviously quite uncomfortable. In a moment of compassion, Margaret quietly and discreetly walked to him, took his hand, and side by side, they sat in preparation of this terrible moment.

Erin still hadn't shown up, of course. That was almost kind of to be expected.

But there was one person who hadn't attended, one person who had every much a reason to attend as Hawkeye, in some ways even more, but was noticably absent.

Peg, Erin's mother, and BJ's ex-wife, couldn't-or wouldn't- be showing her respects that day.

Mulcahy just shook his head and then closed his eyes, more nervous than he'd ever been in his life.

tbc


	3. Chapter 3

Father Mulcahy looked around the room, and he could feel the beads of sweat already forming around the rim of his glasses. Unfortunately, this was part of his job, but in this case, it was something quite unlike he'd ever performed before.

Hawkeye sat alone in the front row, with a pair of huge boots (Maybe he was right- apparently BJ had the hugest set of feet that had been humanely possible.)

There were pictures of BJ everywhere. With Erin, at all stages of her life. In Korea. The group photo from "Fort Dix"...pictures of the home he'd shared with Hawkeye for the better part of his life. The only thing missing was BJ himself.

Margaret looked at Frank, unsure of how he'd act during this occasion. He was fidgeting and obviously quite uncomfortable; the shuffling of his feet was getting on more than one person's nerves.

Charles had brought his partner in his doctor's practice. Seemingly a nice, respectful man, "Dr. Jenson" shook hands with Charles' former army comrades and bowed his head at a respectful distance in preparation of Father Mulcahy's speech.

Margaret, between worrying about an outburst from either Frank or Hawkeye, for different reasons, obviously, kept looking at the door, waiting for any sign of Erin.

Finally the Padre began to speak.

"Ahem. Ahem...I don't know..." his voice was muffled and the microphone only amplified his naturally pitchy voice. "Friends..." he began. "As I look around here, what I see is the people who mattered most to BJ in some way, either minor or in a rather, em, major, way. No pun intended, Major Winchester..."

Charles just grinned a small grin, full of tolerance, and sighed.

Mulcahy ran through his notes, trying to figure out where he would begin. He hadn't been this nervous since...well, never.

He looked at Hawkeye, who looked utterly and completely lost. Suddenly something with that visual of Hawkeye at his weakest stirred something in Mulcahy, and to the shock of the gatherers, he threw down his cards.

"I know, I know I don't have the answers that many of you might in some small way came here hoping to find. I know that there is a lot of hatred, a lot of ignorance, a lot of hurt feelings.

"The only answer, my friends, is love. Love is always the answer.

"During my time in Korea, I'd come across many former believers, who all asked the same question- if there is a God, where are the miracles? When you see your best friend or commanding officer or someone you went to training with blown to bits in front of you, it's rather hard to see a miracle in that.

"When you see children who will never know their own birthday, let alone who their parents were, who will never taste ice cream, for heaven's sake...where is the miracle in that?

"We've all been to war, hell, if you will, and back. Where is the miracle in two sides fighting over, well, does it even matter anymore? Thousands and thousands of young lives, gone, all because of pride and hatred. Where were the miracles in Korea, folks?

"Henry Blake, may he rest in peace. A good man. A flawed man, yes, but he got his discharge papers, was headed home to his wife and family including a young son who he'd never even got to meet- and he never made it back. Where was the miracle for the Blake family that day?

Now every eye on the room was focused solely on Father Mulcahy. Old wounds were opened, and honestly, even Sidney was beginning to wonder if the Padre knew what he was doing.

"My answer to those who wonder where the miracles are- is this: A miracle may not seem like a miracle until you're on the receiving end of one.

"At the end of the war, I was injured. At that time it seemed unlikely that I would ever be able to hear again. Not another confession, not another bird chirping, not another soul giving his life to the Lord.

But you know what..." Mulcahy sighed and continued. "After the war, at home, after quite a few surgeries, well, the proof is right before you. My hearing, praise the Lord, has been restored, and not only can I hear things I never thought I'd ever be able to hear, I can see things, that I never thought I'd be able to see before. That, my friends, is what I consider a miracle. Not necessarily a Noah and the ark miracle, but a miracle to me."

"Folks," Father sighed. "The love between BJ and Hawkeye...some might call it a sin. Some might call it offensive, obscene, unnatural. But we were all there, folks," he repeated out of nervousness. "What the rest of the world might disagree with or feel the need to condone, well, I call it a miracle."

"What I see..." he continued, his face now turning red. "What I see, what I saw, were two souls, two doctors, two...human beings. They laughed together, they shared their lives together, heck, they saved lives together. They went to hell and back, and they both survived, both I dare say a better person for having known the other person. And those...those..hatemongerers, they call it an abomination?" Mulcahy took a deep breath. "Well, I say...**How dare they!"**

His voice, with his last statement, had raised to a level no one had ever come out of his mouth. In fact, with those last few words, his anger had risen to such a level that his glasses had shaken away from their place on his face.

"How dare they," he continued, adjusting his glasses. "How dare anyone say that love is wrong, that it against the law of nature. To those who question, who doubt, who label...who quote the Bible when condemning or whatever they feel they have the right to do...

"Who did Jesus himself sit with? I dare say, I dare say, that Christ himself would have been proud to sit at the table in the mess hall with Hawkeye and BJ and any one of our team."

"Blasphemy!" Frank started to protest. Instead of making a scene, Margaret just squeezed his hand a little more, and he looked down, not willing to go any further.

Mulcahy continued. "Christ didn't die for the perfect. He died for the sinner, and who amongst us hasn't sinned? As a priest, let me reassure you, I have heard many, many types of confessions of sins, some that shock me to this day.

"Sin doesn't discriminate. Preachers drink. Leaders are unfaithful to their families. Heroes break down and fall, even if they try their best.

"But on that note, how can I honestly say that love is a sin, that love should discriminate when sin doesn't?

"For those who use the Bible to hurt their neighbors, I ask you- what was the purpose of the Good Word? To hurt, or to love? My friends, the God I know, the God I've questioned, tried to obey, studied, and have listened to...has taught me this...God is love. Love is the answer. Always has been, always will be."

Still shaken, Mulcahy walked away to go get a drink of water, while everyone looked at each other in awed and revered silence.


	4. Chapter 4

As the crowd started to stand, anxious to catch a bit of that rare Maine breeze that flew through the slightly cracked window- it also served another purpose. The Father's speech had hit them all hard, and the uneasy tension in that small funeral room was practically palpable.

Frank, understandably, clung to Margaret's side.

Everyone wanted to go to Hawkeye, to offer words of condolence, but really, what could they say? Just as it had been during the end of the war in Korea, no one really knew what to do when they saw their beloved Hawkeye Pierce so fallen, so broken, so lost.

Finally, Charles and his business associate decided to approach Hawkeye.

"Pierce," Charles started, not quite sure of what he should say.

Hawkeye didn't say much, he just nodded and went back to staring at a picture of he and BJ that he held in his hand. It was taken day that BJ had shown up in Crabapple Cove, deciding that he couldn't live a lie of a life for one day longer. Neither had looked happier in their lives.

"Um, Pierce," Charles started again. "I do realize that this is a most, shall we say, unfortunate situation. After that last day in that ...hell would be too kind of a word...after that last day, I swore I would never speak of my time there, and certainly not speak of my comrades, certainly not of you nor Hunicutt again in my lifetime if I could help it."

All eyes were on Charles. Even Frank, he couldn't even believe how Charles was acting. "And you thought I would be the big jerk," he snickered self-consciously. "See, Margaret, I can behave myself sometimes..."

Margaret placed her arm on Frank's hand, and didn't even look at her ex-lover. "Not now, Frank," she shushed him, awaiting with everyone else in the room as to what Hawkeye's response would be.

Hawkeye just shook his head. "Still the charmer, aren't you, Charles? I pity the lady who ever accepted a proposal of servitude, I mean, marriage, to you."

Charles and "Dr. Jenson" looked at each other. Suddenly a change in Charles' demeanor was apparent to everyone; even Radar and Klinger who just stood by each other, watching the scene unfold.

"Pierce, this may come to the surprise of the lot of you, but there is no Mrs. Charles Winchester." Charles sighed.

"Gee, a carefree bachelor, while I'm mourning my life partner- my how the tables have turned. If you've come to gloat..." Hawkeye sighed.

Charles returned the sigh. "Pierce," he reiterated. "There is no Mrs. Winchester, nor shall there be. This is Dr. Bruce Janson, my partner..."

"Yeah, well, you'll have to forgive me for not making friends with your colleagues at Boston General," Hawkeye started.

Charles, to everyone's surprise, placed his arm on Hawkeye's. "Dr. Janson does not work at Boston General. He is my _partner."_

Hawkeye's eyes widened as he stared at Charles, as the rest of the members of the 4077 all took turns staring in shock.

"What the hell did you guys _do _over there after I left?!" Frank asked aloud, to which everyone just stared at him.

"What? It's an honest question," Frank protested.

"Come on, Frank. Let's go for a walk. Would you like that?" Margaret smiled sweetly as she took Frank's arm. Before she left, she smiled knowingly and nodded at Charles, who returned the gesture.

"You mean..." Hawkeye started.

Charles nodded. "Yes. It seems rather a strange twist of fate that apparently the majority of our tent mates were to live their lives as homosexuals." Charles sighed. "God, be as he may, certainly has a strange sense of humor."

"Why didn't you tell me..."Hawkeye, alert for the first time that week asked in earnest.

"Please," Charles rolled his eyes. "The only person who was more of a gossip-monger in that camp was Hunicutt. Do you really think I'd trust my own secret to the likes of you two?"

Even Klinger felt a bit wary as they all heard Charles speak of BJ. How Hawkeye would react was anyone's guess.

To everyone's surprise, and to their relief, instead of breaking down at the spoken memory of his loved one, Hawkeye actually started to laugh. He hugged Charles, or attempted to, but Charles, still very much proving to be the snob they all remembered him to be, simply pulled away.

Hawkeye by then had started laughing. Not just a small chuckle. He'd been laughing so hard that tears started falling down his face.

First Sidney joined in the chuckle, taking in the ironic humor of the situation.

Without realizing why, Klinger and Radar also started laughing, albeit a bit uncomfortably.

The release of the emotions that had been building up was just so darn...cathartic. Kind of like their unlikely family that had been formed in Korea, and as with BJ's and Hawkeye's relationship itself, you kind of had to be there to understand the moment.

But there was one person in that room at that moment who didn't understand. Not one little bit.

"My daddy's dead, and you all think this is a joke?"

Everyone turned and saw a very hurt and confused Erin Hunicutt standing in the entrance of the room, and no one, not even Hawkeye, knew what to say.

tbc


	5. Chapter 5

Before anyone could speak up, and with Margaret hot on his trail, Frank burst in and didn't even stop to think before speaking.

"Let me get this straight, Pierce," Frank huffed. "You –you...em, you had the hots for BJ."

Erin watched on in bewilderment as Hawkeye rolled his eyes. "Yes, Frank."

"And BJ...he had the hots for you..." Frank continued, completely oblivious to the tone of the room, as usual.

"Yes, Frank."

Then Frank looked at Charles. "And I suppose...you had the hots for Hawkeye?"

Charles laughed a hearty chuckle. "Surely you jest."

"BJ?"

Charles just shook his head, smiling.

"But what about me," Frank continued. "I mean, I lived with you guys, and none of you had the hots for me? Not even Klinger?"

Soon-Li looked at her husband in total confusion, and Klinger just shook his head vehemently.

"Frank...why are you here?" Hawkeye asked. "Did you even know about Beej and I before you came here today?"

Frank kind of shrugged his shoulders. "Margaret told me a few days ago."

"And you came anyways? Frank, I remember there was a homosexual solider back in Korea you did your damnedest to get discharged," Hawkeye pointed out. "Why are you here?"

Frank, not knowing what else to say, just told the truth. "It seemed like the right thing to do."

Now Hawkeye knew what to say. "Frank, the reason that neither Beej nor I, as you put it, had the hots for you, it's because- its clear - neither of us were good enough for you."

Margaret grinned, Frank blushed and giggled, and then, catching everyone off guard, Hawkeye walked up to Frank, put his hands on Frank's arms, and kissed him on the cheek.

Frank's jaw dropped, and he tried desperately to wipe off the kiss. "You...you...how dare you! Here I was trying to be nice, and you go and do something like that..."

Everyone laughed, but Erin still stood, observing in total confusion.

"Dad?" she finally said. "What's going on? Why are you all so...so happy? Why aren't you talking about my daddy?"

Hawkeye turned to her, but Margaret shook her head, and just looked at Hawkeye. "Let me handle this, Pierce." Then she turned to Erin.

"Erin, honey, I know we've never met. My name is Margaret. Houlihan. Surely your dad spoke of me?"

Erin just shook her head no.

"Major Houlihan..." then something hit Margaret. "Hot Lips?"

Erin's face lit up. "Oh, yeah, he did talk about you," she smiled.

Margaret shook her head, laughing at her one time nickname. "Erin, honey, I knew your daddy very well. Both of them. I was in Korea with them. I knew them, well, since the beginning."

"But my daddy's dead! You all are kissing and laughing and making jokes and I don't get it..."

"Young Miss, if I may," Charles spoke up. Sidney just watched in morbid curiosity. "Let me tell you a story of your father, a memory that I cannot get out of my mind, no matter how hard I tried. Rest assured, I've tried everything to forget about this...this anecdote of your fathers."

Erin just looked at him.

"Anyways," Charles continued. "One day, at the end of a rather exhausting shift, I was preparing to do the final surgery of that day. For the moment anyhow. But then, to my mortal humiliation, Pierce comes out of nowhere, and...I cannot believe I am admitting to this...but Pierce runs up to me and pulls my pants down. In the surgery room. In front of everyone," Charles closed his eyes, shuddering at the memory.

Despite her confusion, Erin found herself smiling, just a bit. That sounded like her dad.

"Young Miss, does that sound like your dad, Benjamin Pierce?"

She nodded.

"The thing was...the thing was, Erin, that it was not Pierce's idea. After a series of unfortunate events, your dad came to me, and it became clear- your daddy, Dr. Hunicutt, was the ringleader of that little series of pranks. He was the puppet master pulling the strings."

Erin looked at Hawkeye, who just grinned and nodded in confirmation.

"But, Erin, please know this...in our unit, no deed, especially the juvenile deeds orchestrated by both of your fathers, would go unpunished. Let's just say your daddy, Dr. Hunicutt, woke up and found himself in a rather compromising position."

Erin looked at Hawkeye, who despite his best efforts, was now laughing hysterically. "It's true, Erin. We tied him to a bed- not his bed- one in the nurse's station, and the best part...he had no clothes on! Then we had the announcement..." he could barely continue due to his laughter, which was now bordering hysteria. "He was naked, naked as the day he was born, and he had to run out to get to duty. He was naked, Erin," Hawkeye just couldn't stop laughing.

Even Charles couldn't contain his own laughter. "Are you forgetting the best part, Pierce? The photos posted on the bulletin board..."

Now everyone, even Frank, was in stitches. Erin just looked around the room and, still trying to figure out who was who, just made one comment. "You guys are so weird," she shrugged.

"Let's not forget Klinger," Frank added in in overt enthusiasm to be part of the attention. "He wore dresses. Every day. He did!"

Now the room grew quiet. Frank, suddenly feeling very humiliated, mumbled something about needing some fresh air and stumbled outside. Margaret didn't follow, but she watched him, and for the first time in a long, long time, she remembered the good times she'd had with Frank. They'd had a stormy, heated, hurtful past. But at that moment, as she watched Frank try to fit in, try to be a decent person, suddenly her time in Korea didn't seem that bad, after all.

"Erin," Hawkeye faced his daughter. "I know we're a weird, strange bunch. I know you may not understand...the reason we laugh now is not because we don't love your daddy. It's the same reason we all laughed in Korea- if we didn't laugh, we'd lose our minds. We loved your daddy, Erin, and I can say from the bottom of my heart- I love you, more than you'll ever know."

Erin ran, not walked, but ran to her other dad, and she gave him the hug of a lifetime.


	6. Chapter 6

"Dad, I'm...I'm sorry. I should have been here, for, you know..." Erin started, her eyes filling with tears.

"Hey, honey, it's okay. I understand. Your dad, he would have understood. Just know that the thing I think we all know and remember best about your daddy is that he loved to laugh. He was the funniest man I knew. I could tell you countless stories of how he made me laugh in Korea...he probably saved my life, and the thing is...I don't think he knew that," Hawkeye sighed, as they all sat down. Both Frank and Father Mulcahy had quietly rejoined the group as they sat around in a circle, thinking of the man they all knew and had shared some of the most darkest, terrifying and yet somehow some of the best years of their lives with.

"He knew," Erin spoke with such certainty, that even Hawkeye looked at her in confusion. "Dad, he once told me something about you..."

"Oh yeah?"

"I don't know if I should or not...I don't want to embarrass you..."

"Oh, please," Charles chortled. "If that aftershave he still wears all these years after the war doesn't embarrass him, I dare say nothing shall."

Erin looked at him curiously, trying to figure out who that man was.

"It's okay, Erin," Hawkeye took her hand. "There aren't many secrets here..."

"My daddy," Erin sniffed. "He told me one time you broke his heart."

That wasn't what he'd expected to hear. "What?"

"I mean, it wasn't your fault. Daddy said, he said you weren't feeling well...you weren't yourself, he said."

Suddenly it dawned on Hawkeye, on everyone except for Frank what Erin was referring to. The Incident.

"Dad, when you were at that place, my daddy told me he visited you, he tried to talk to you. He even said he talked to you about me."

Hawkeye nodded. "He talked about you every day, anyways. It didn't take me long to see why."

She smiled and wiped her tears. "He said...he wanted to say goodbye to you, but he had a chance to come home to me, and he said there wasn't time, he was sad, and he thought you didn't know that."

Hawkeye looked down. "Yeah, well, he was right. I wasn't really myself at the moment."

"He said that he came back, and when he saw you...he wanted you to tell him goodbye. He said you wouldn't. He didn't understand that," Erin said, and Margaret put her arm around the young girl's shoulder.

"It's okay, Erin. You don't have to talk about this if you don't want to," Margaret offered.

"May I?" Sidney spoke up. "It might serve both Erin and Hawkeye well if she were to share what her daddy recalled of that time."

Erin looked up and smiled at Margaret, then returned her attentions to her dad. "He told me he tried to talk to you about...about the idea that you two would never see each other again. He said you like, totally blew him off."

"Out of the mouth of babes," Charles whispered.

"Anyways, Dad...Daddy told me that even though he left you his own goodbye message, he knew it wasn't over for him. Not the war. You. You two weren't over for him. It was as he rode his motorcycle-" Erin started giggling. "I still can't get over Daddy ever riding a bicycle, let alone a motorcycle- but anyways, he knew he would find you. It was then that he realized he loved you."

Hawkeye looked up, trying so hard to regain his composure. This was all too much, too hard to hear. But in a way, he was glad he heard it. If only it didn't have to be this way.

"Hawkeye, you okay?" Sidney asked quietly.

Hawkeye rolled his eyes. "Yes, Doctor. You don't have to worry about me. I'm never going back to the funny farm, let me tell you that..."

Frank looked shocked. "You- Hawkeye...were..."

"Yes, Frank," Margaret tried to hush him. "I'm sorry, Hawkeye. I should have prepared him. I just...I just didn't know what to say..."

"It's okay, Margaret. What's in the past is in the past, I guess. Sorry, Sid. I know you're just doing your job. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"Hawkeye, I haven't been a shrink in some time. I'm not here on duty. I'm here as your friend," Sidney smiled, and suddenly Erin broke down.

"Erin, honey, what's wrong?" Hawkeye ran to her. "I thought you knew...I thought..."

"It's not that, Dad. Daddy told me a while ago about how you were sick. He told me about Dr. Freedman helping you, helping you all out. I wish my counselor were as nice as him," Erin sobbed.

Hawkeye looked around in total confusion. "Erin...a counselor? What counselor?"

"I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to hurt you, Dad. I love you and I know you loved my daddy. I just don't understand..." Erin cried, breaking the heart of every single person in that room.

"It's okay, Erin. I just didn't realize you were talking to a counselor. It's all right. I think we all need someone to talk to every now and then."

"I saw lots of counselors," Frank chimed in, and everyone stared at him. "What? I mean, I'm sure it's a surprise to you guys, but yes, I too had to talk to some people. It happens."

"Why did you have to talk to one?" Erin looked up at him, and all eyes turned to Margaret.

She closed her eyes, figuring Frank would blame her, maybe rightfully so, for his problems.

"Erin...gee, it's weird calling you that, not because you're weird or anything, but I only heard your daddy talk about his baby Erin," Frank started, then looked around to see if everyone was watching him. "I can't talk about this if you're all watching!"

Hawkeye just nodded, and they all looked down.

"Anyways, Erin, I talked to someone, I guess I was mad. People weren't always nice to me. I know that's hard to believe, but it's true," Frank went on.

"Wait a minute...are you Ferret Face?" Erin looked up at him.

Instead of getting mad, Frank just sighed. "I guess your dad did talk about me after all."

"Don't worry, Mr. Burns. I get made fun of all the time, too," Erin responded. Now Hawkeye opened his eyes.

"What? You are? How long has this been going on?" he demanded.

Erin just shrugged. "As long as I can remember."

"Erin, I love you! Why wouldn't you tell me...you're beautiful, you're tall, you're smart...why would anyone have anything bad to say about you?"

"It's not really me they're mean about. It's you and my daddy," Erin answered quietly.

"You mean..."

Erin nodded. "I've only been asked out to a dance by one boy. One. All the other girls, they have lots of boys after them. I met this boy, Tim, he went to another school. We talked. I thought he liked me. But then he said his dad wouldn't let him talk to me anymore, that he was really sorry."

Every heart broke by each second that Erin spoke.

"Why didn't you tell us this..."

"What could you do? I mean, I know you loved my daddy, and that he loved you. It's not your fault."

"Erin, honey," Hawkeye pulled her close to him. "What can I do, how can I help you?"

"It's okay. I'm used to it. I just wish I had a mom to talk to about these things. Yeah, two dads are nice and all that, but it would be nice not to have to be embarrassed to ask to borrow money for female things," Erin laughed.

They all smiled, and as they all took in what Erin had shared with them, slowly but surely a plan was forming in Margaret's mind. She'd dealt with plenty of jerks during her time in the army; she wasn't afraid to set another female straight. Oklahoma, watch out; Hot Lips had a plan.

tbc


	7. Chapter 7

So after they'd all adjourned to Hawkeye's, to the home he'd shared for so many years with BJ, it suddenly dawned on Hawkeye that he hadn't prepared any food for anyone.

"That's okay, Hawkeye," Margaret smiled. "I'll take care of it. I'm not too familiar with Crabapple Cove- do you have a personal phone book, one where you keep the number of your favorite deli? I'd be happy to take care of the food. You just stay here with this young lady."

"Yeah," Hawkeye said, still half-dazed from all of the revelations. "It's in the kitchen. I think BJ left it in the drawer by the phone..."

"I'll show her," Erin offered.

"No, that's okay," Margaret spoke up just a little too quickly. "You all just stay here. You guys have enough to deal with...I can find my way around the kitchen, believe it or not."

Quickly Margaret excused herself, while all attentions returned to Erin.

"Honey," Hawkeye started. "Every Friday night, you always borrowed money...you told us you were going to the movies with the girls or some boy...I remember Beej always wanted to meet the boy you were dating...but you'd just kiss him and reassure him you knew what you were doing. Was that..."

Erin looked down and nodded. "I didn't want you two to worry about me."

"Where were you if you weren't off with friends?"

"I did go to the movies, sometimes. Sometimes I'd just buy an ice cream and walk around town. I usually wound up at the library, though," Erin sighed.

"I had no idea...Erin, I feel like I've failed you, like I should have known..."

"It's okay, Dad. I just...I don't know. It's hard sometimes, you know?"

No one spoke. Klinger just held on to his wife's hand, as did Radar.

"Well, the way I see it, you're lucky," Frank added, and they all wondered if he was being smart with them.

"Frank, this really isn't the time for one of your _insightful_ wisecracks, " Hawkeye stared at him. "My daughter's hurting, her other daddy's dead, and her life isn't all that easy. So whatever you have to say..."

"At least she calls you Dad," Frank said quietly. He looked down at his boots.

"What? What in the world are you getting at, Frank? Not everything is about you..." Hawkeye ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated. Honestly, he still had no idea why Ferret Face was even there.

"It's okay. Mr. Burns, what do you mean?" Erin asked politely. Suddenly the idea of BJ's daughter being so kind to Ferret Face almost made Hawkeye laugh at the irony. Almost.

"I don't know," he looked at the floor, shuffling his feet. "My kids hate me. They haven't called me Dad or Daddy or even Father forever."

"Frank, _please" _Hawkeye huffed.

"I just...I don't understand...you...and BJ...I really don't. All I know is that even us normal people get picked on and have problems too, that's all."

Sidney and Hawkeye exhanged looks. "Frank, you mean to say that after all we've went through together, you're the one who's changed the most?"

"I wouldn't say that. I'm not doing..._that.._.with _guys_," Frank replied.

This time, even Erin couldn't help but laugh.

Meanwhile, Margaret had indeed found Hawkeye's address book. Yes, she'd found the number to the deli, and she would head there. But after that, probably the next day, she'd take that ripped out piece of paper from that address book and would start out on a journey that she was sure would be unforgettable.

Peg Goren, the name read. Below that, the address and phone number were listed.

_Well, Peg Goren_, Margaret thought bitterly. I_t's high time you learned just what you missed out on._

00000

"Margaret?" Hawkeye called out. "Need any help? I think we're all getting hungry..."

She smiled, tucked that piece of paper in her purse, and let them know she was on her way out to get the food.

"Frank, I might need some help with this order...would you like to come with me?" Margaret asked.

Frank looked around. "Me?"

"Yes, you. It's not an invitation to the movies. Just to the deli. You coming?"

"Sure, okay."

As the two of them left, Sidney excused himself to get some fresh air. Charles Winchester the third- 'd always suspected, but never said anything to anyone. Not even to Charles himself.

Hawkeye and BJ...ditto. Yes, of course, Sidney had his concerns over Erin's well-being most of all. But perhaps the strangest thing going on at the moment seemed to be the renewing of Margaret and Frank's friendship. Sidney chuckled and shook his head. Just when he'd thought he'd seen it all...

0000

In the car, after Margaret had parked her car, she turned to look at Frank. "I'm going on a road trip tomorrow. Do you...do you want to come with me or not?" she demanded.

"A road trip? With you? Of course. Does this mean..."

"It doesn't mean anything, Frank. Just that I have a long trip and I could use someone to help take turns driving."

"Okay," Frank stuttered. "But where are you...where are we going?"

Margaret sighed. "Oklahoma."

"What's in Oklahoma?"

"It's a who, not a what. And it's Peg. She's what's in Oklahoma."

"Does...does Hawkeye know?"

Margaret shook her head. "And he'd better not find out, got it?"

Frank nodded. "But why would you want to visit Peg?"

"Because," Margaret rolled her eyes. "Her daughter's hurting awfully bad right now. I understand Peg being hurt, but to abandon her little girl...and she didn't even have the decency to come to Maine to pay her respects...if not for BJ's sake, than for Erin's? Some women may have children, but they are no mothers, let me tell you."

Frank wanted to ask more questions, but as Margaret was a female, he kind of figured she knew what she was doing.

He of all people knew that once Margaret had made her mind about something, there was no stopping her.

So Oklahoma it was.

tbc


	8. Chapter 8

So once on the road, Margaret drove in silence, until, as usual, Frank decided to take advantage of the opportuntiy.

"Margaret...I'm so sorry, for everything. I love you, I always have, and I just wanted you..."

"Frank," she sighed, not even taking her eyes off the road. "Please. This really isn't the time. It's not even about you and me anymore. We both...we both made mistakes; can't we just leave the past in the past?"

"But Margaret..." Frank pleaded. "I just never got to tell you that I lo..."

She slammed the brakes, bringing the car to a halting stop, startling them both. "Frank Burns, if you dare tell me you love me now, after all we've been through, and after what poor Hawkeye and Erin are going through...I'll...I'll...I'll drop you off at the nearest bus station. Try me, buster. Don't think I won't do it."

She saw the sad, hurt little lost puppy dog look in his eyes, and even though she felt bad for hurting him yet again, there really wasn't much she could do. This trip was not meant as a trip down memory lane. It was to knock Peg down, well, a peg, or two. Oh, God, she had been around Hawkeye too long. Actually, the bad pun reminded her more of BJ. There hadn't been a pun, no matter how clever or how outright bad the man hadn't loved. Suddenly she leaned forward, and before she knew what was happening, she found herself crying for the first time, in, well, years.

Frank attempted to put his arm around her, but thought better of it considering her threat to abandon him. "Oh, Margaret," he whispered. "I never could stand to see you cry."

She wiped her face, looked at him closely. Just for a minute, a brief minute,being so close to him was almost like the times they'd spent in her tent back in Korea. Before she could think properly, Margaret found herself feeling so...so...alone, so bad, for Frank, for Erin, for Hawkeye. Most of all, she felt badly for BJ, for his losing out on his...everything. As the wind blew through her hair, their eyes met, Margaret temporarily forgot where she was. As her lips prepared to meet Frank's, for some reason, even though she knew it wasn't right, it didn't feel entirely wrong, either.

**HONK!**

She looked up, and suddenly she remembered that she had slammed the brakes in the middle of the street, and apparently traffic had caught up with them. So without another word to Frank, Margaret took off, thankful for being saved from what would have been a surefire mistake.

Ah, nertz, Frank thought as he closed his eyes and dozed off to sleep.

00000

"Frank. Frank! BURNS!"

"What?" With a startle, Frank sat up and bumped his head on the top of the car, and looked around. Instinctively, at the sound of that voice, he brought his hand to salute Margaret.

As mad as she was at Peg, at the situation, at having to straighten out a mother for abandoning her child, even Margaret could see the humor in the situation. Yes, of course she was mad at Frank for wanting to take advantage of the situation earlier, but instead of getting mad, seeing him salute her just...made her smile. Then she laughed, and he looked around, more confused than ever.

"Come on, Frank. It's late. We're at a hotel for the night."

He giggled. "Oh, Margaret..."

One look from her set him straight. "Of course, being a gentleman, I'll allow you to check in first, and then, if they should happen to have any extra rooms, then..."

That Frank. One minute she could have slapped him. The next minute...it wasn't hate, it wasn't love, it wasn't quite pity. Maybe it was one, or all three. At any rate, Margaret was tired and so she set out to check herself into a room for the night.

Frank laid back, and just sighed. Of course, he still loved Margaret. Margaret was the reason his wife divorced him; she was the reason his kids had nothing to do with him. "Oh, Margaret," he whispered as he looked after her.

But then, knocking him out of his daydream came a pounding from his side of the window. "Don't shoot! I don't have any money!" he cried out, raising his hands in surrender.

"Some soldier you were," Margaret scoffed. "And you wonder why..."

"Why what?"

"Nothing. Never mind. Look, they only have one room. We'll have to keep driving."

"How far is the next town?" Frank asked.

"At least thirty, forty miles," Margaret replied, leaning against the side of the car.

"Come on, Margaret. I won't lie...yes, I would like the chance to be close to you again..."

"Frank!"

"But I promise...let me check us in. I'll sleep on the floor. I promise- no funny business."

Her eyes narrowed as she examined him, to see if she could find a trace of a motive. "No funny business?"

With eyes wide open, he shook his head, and then, as tired and hungry and, well, tired, as Margaret was, she nodded.

Once he'd left her alone, Margaret briefly wondered what she'd been thinking.

This was for Erin, and Hawkeye. Most of all, though, it was for BJ. She'd once told him she'd hoped to find a man just like him; Margaret never forgot his reply. "I hope so, too. You deserve the best."

That Hunicutt was one of a kind, that was for sure. And if that one memory...that one, lone memory, still made her laugh after all those years, suddenly it made Margaret wonder what Hawkeye was sleeping with at night.

tbc


	9. Chapter 9

So Margaret, after getting herself ready for the night, came out of the bathroom, only to find Frank staring at her.

"I knew this was a bad idea!" she shrieked. "Go on. You're sleeping in the car. Go on!"

Instead Frank just pointed to his eye. "you have some..."

Self-consciously and quite ashamed, Margaret touched the corner of her eye and realized that she'd left some anti-wrinkle cream on her face. "Oh...oh."

"What is that stuff?"

"Frank Burns, not that it's any of your business, but it's aging cream..." she sighed.

"You put stuff on to make you look older?" he asked, puzzled.

She threw a blanket and a pillow at him. "No, you...you cretin! It's anti-aging cream. I'm not exactly a spring chicken anymore."

He looked down. "I think you're perfect," he sighed then tried to get settled on the floor. The blanket didn't even cover his feet.

Margaret yanked the blanket away from him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing...I just meant...you don't really need that stuff. My ex-wife, she could have used it, but I don't think that would have helped her."

Margaret, now grinning, started to laugh. "You remember that little red-head you went after after I...after we parted ways?"

He shook his head no, terrified to admit that indeed, he did remember.

"You were no worse than Hawkeye, going after the new young hot thing in camp," she scolded.

"Well," Frank stood up. "You had Penobscott!"

She looked at him with bemusement in her eyes. "What was that crack you said to me..."

"I don't know. I don't remember."

Margaret, still laughing, pointing her finger at him. "You told me, you told me...a little youth would be nice for a change!"

He started to grab his stuff to go to the car. "I'm sorry, Margaret. I didn't mean it."

She touched his arm. "Yes, you did, Frank. And you know what? I had it coming, didn't I?"

He really , really did not want to answer that. But the creases of a smile that had formed around his lips told her all she needed to know.

"It's okay. I deserved that...and then I heard Hawkeye and BJ laughing..."

Frank's eyes lit up. "They were laughing! Not at me. With me!" then he started to lay down on the floor.

"What are you doing?"

"What?" He protested. "I can't sleep in the car. You have the keys."

"Frank," she took his hand and helped him to his feet. "You don't have to sleep on the floor. Or in the car."

Out of nervousness, Frank started to giggle. "You mean..."

"Don't get me wrong, Burns. I meant it when I said no funny business."

So awkwardly they both climbed into bed, their backs to each other's.

How he would get any sleep that night, Frank had no idea.

00000

"Captain?" Klinger cautiously approached Hawkeye.

"Aw, come on, Klinger. I may be even funnier than you guys thought, but I'm still me, Hawkeye. Or at least I still hope I am," the grief-stricken Pierce sighed.

"I just...I just wanted to tell you something. Actually, if it's okay with you, I asked Sidney to help me out here..." Klinger continued, quite nervously.

"What? Are you trying to get me committed? Klinger, need I remind you, the war's over. I don't think I need a Section 8 now. Then again, that was always your thing, wasn't it?" Hawkeye tried to feign a smile.

Sidney joined them. "Hawkeye, I'm not positive as to Klinger's intentions here, but if they are what I think they might be...it might be advisable to hear him out."

Hawkeye just nodded. Klinger looked at Sidney, who just nodded in encouragement.

"Sir...Hawkeye...it's no secret that I was always trying to get a dodge out of the Army. You all knew just how much I wanted out of that place."

"Well, now that you mention it, the thought might have crossed my mind a time or two," Hawkeye smiled weakly.

"Anyways," Now Klinger was starting to sweat. "I don't know if you knew about this, but Sidney...he one time offered to get me my Section 8."

Hawkeye looked up, and the psychiatrist nodded in confirmation.

"The thing was..." Klinger started. "The thing was, I just had to sign a paper, saying I was, you know..."

"I think so, Klinger. You have nothing to worry about. I don't know a single person from our time there that for a second thought that you were, you know..."

"Hawkeye, I took it as an insult. I thought it would be the end of my world if anyone even thought I was, you know..."

Now even Charles, from a bemused distance, was paying attention.

"Anyways, Hawkeye...you too, Major Winchester...after knowing both of you and BJ...I wanted to let you know it would have been an honor if people thought I was funny."

Hawkeye just nodded,. "Thank you, Klinger."

Klinger looked at Charles, who rolled his eyes. "Please, Klinger. I saw your taste in clothing. You never would have made it as, as you so eloquently put it, as one of us funny ones."

Klinger nodded in respect to Hawkeye, and returned to Soon-Li, muttering how some people (Charles, specifically) never would change.

Soon-Li just hugged Klinger, and Sidney looked at them briefly, then returned his attentions to Hawkeye. "That Klinger...he means well..."

"I know," he sighed. "I know."

Then he looked up and saw Erin hugging Klinger.

Hawkeye was confused, but Sidney stopped him. "She's not used to people being so kind and understanding of her life. It's okay, Hawkeye. They say you can pick your friends, but not your family. Judging by the lack of compassion from BJ's family, I'd say you picked the right choice. Not just for you, but for Erin."

"Excuse me, Sid...I need...I need a breath of fresh air. I should go to Erin..."

"Hawkeye, it's okay. She's with family," Sidney smiled.

And the thing was, Hawkeye found himself agreeing with Sidney.

tbc


	10. Chapter 10

Frank found himself staring at the ceiling. Never in his life did he ever dream that he'd ever wind up sharing the same room, let alone the same bed, with Margaret again.

"Margaret? Are you awake?" he asked, still staring at the ceiling.

"I am _now. _What do you want, Frank?"

"How long...when did you know?"

She joined him in staring at the ceiling. "Know what?"

"About...about Pierce. And Hunicutt?"

She closed her eyes, trying really hard to recall when she had found out of her friends' orientation. "I don't know, I guess a few years ago."

"Weren't you...surprised?" Frank asked, still trying to make sense of everything.

She didn't even have to think about it. "Not really."

"And it didn't make you...make you sick?"

Now she was back to Hot Lips. "No. Why would it?"

"It's against the bible, you know."

"So is adultery, or have you forgotten about that?" Margaret snapped.

It still didn't make sense to him. If she had a point, Frank obviously couldn't quite get it. "And Major Winchester...did you know about him?"

She smiled. "Actually I knew about it in Korea. At the end of the war."

Despite himself, he turned to stare at her. "And they let him stay?"

"The army didn't know, Frank. He and I...we had our differences, let's just say. But at the end, when he was leaving...he gave me a book of poems."

"You always did love poetry," Frank murmured.

She nodded. "Anyways...only I read what was inscripted. He let me know that if he'd ever been able to give his heart to a woman, it would have been me. That's when I knew."

"Oh." Frank tried to think about it. "Pierce and Hunicutt...do you think that it was even possible that they loved each other, or was it just...I can't even think about it," he shuddered.

"They loved each other," Margaret whispered. "I'd give anything for that kind of love. I don't think I'll ever love anyone ever again." then she saw the hurt look on Frank's face, the look of...despair, in his eyes. She tried to lighten up the mood. "How about you, Burns? You think you'll ever love again?"

"I never stopped."

For some reason, maybe it was grief, maybe it was pity, maybe, just maybe, it was love, maybe it was out of remorse on Margaret's part for hurting Frank...but that night, something in that cold and lonely hotel room happened that she'd swore that she would never do again. That night, Margaret made love to Frank, and he'd never been happier in his entire life.

0000

Back in Crabapple Cove, as the guests had settled in spare rooms at Hawkeye's for the night, Erin joined her dad for some alone time on the porch.

"Daddy, your friends..."Erin started.

"I know," Hawkeye chuckled. "They are _weird_."

Erin took her dad's hand. "I was going to say they are nice. They love you, and I can tell they all loved my Daddy. I wish they were my family," she sighed.

Hawkeye looked at her. "One thing I learned from Korea...it was a horrible, miserable, depressing and disgusting place. I would never go there again for all the money in the world. But you know what...for so long, it had only been me and my dad. My mom had passed some time ago. But in Korea...not only did I find your daddy, the man whom I loved more than anything...I found you, whom I love every bit as much as I did your daddy. But there...in that crazy, insane...anyways, I found my family. And no matter what happens, I know this- they will always be your family too."

At first Erin smiled. Then she broke down in such a fit of tears. Hawkeye felt terrible. "I'm sorry, honey. I wasn't trying to say that anyone could take your daddy's place...no one..."

"It's not that, Dad." Erin looked at him through tear-stained eyes. "Your friends who only heard about me as a baby, they like me. I see that. But...my mom...Dad, why doesn't my own mom love me anymore?"

Just when Hawkeye thought that his heart couldn't break any more than it already had...

He wrapped his arm around his daughter, and all he could say was..."She's a fool, Erin."

"I..I miss my daddy so much. He always, always made me feel good about myself. I found his wallet. He still carried around my baby picture even until that night..."

It was all Hawkeye could do to maintain his composure.

"But my mom...I don't think she could pick me out of any school picture. Kids are mean, I get that. But why, Dad? What did I do to make my own mom stop loving me?"

Hawkeye just pulled her close, and as he had no answer, all they could do was sit on the porch swing and hold each other and cry and wonder what in the world was wrong with people.

tbc


	11. Chapter 11

By the time Frank woke up, still groggy but deliriously happy, Margaret was already dressed, her hair up in a bun (which reminded Frank so much of Korea).

"Margaret," he giggled. "I thought we could stay for...breakfast."

She tossed him his shirt. "I had a piece of toast and some coffee."

"But..."

She wouldn't even look at him. "I know what you mean, Frank. There will be no breakfast for us, not now, not ever again."

"But Margaret..."

"Don't Margaret me!" she shrieked. "Do you really think last night meant anything to me? Come on, Frank, surely you can't be that st..."

"But I thought you loved me!"

She sighed. "Are you really going to make me say it? Why do you do this, Frank?"

"I don't understand..."

Now she turned to face him. "It's over, Frank. I don't love you. I'm sorry...I'm sorry if I misled you. That was not my intention."

"But.." then he remembered how she responded the last time he cried out her name. "If you don't love me...what about last night? What was that about?"

"It was pity, Frank. I felt sorry for you. There, I said it. Now are you going to get in the car, or do you need money for a bus?"

He looked down. "Hand me the keys. I...I believe it's my turn to drive." Meanwhile he quickly hid the little jewelry box he'd been carrying around with him for the past fifteen years. What he would do with a ring, he had no idea. But what he'd do with the rest of his life, now...

"Are you coming or not," Margaret barked.

And that was the last thing either of them said to each other all the way to Oklahoma.

Margaret had never hated herself more than she did those last few hours of the first half of their trip.

0000

"Dad.." Erin started as they both sat on the front porch, waiting for his makeshift family to arrive for lunch."

"Yes, honey?"

"You and daddy always told me I could ask you guys anything..."

Hawkeye nodded. "I still mean that. Ask anything you like. I take it you have something on your mind?"

She sighed. "Why did you and Daddy always make fun of Mr. Burns?"

Hawkeye spit out his orange juice. "What...where did you get that idea?"

"Daddy told me you guys did. Is that true?"

Hawkeye sighed. "Erin, honey, there are different types of teasing..."

"I know that. But he didn't say you guys teased him. He said you guys laughed at him. Why?"

Hawkeye just shook his head, missing BJ more than ever. He would have been the one to answer that question. "I don't know, Erin. I guess, I guess your daddy and I were bored. It didn't mean anything. It was...it was just a way to pass the time."

"Dad," Erin looked at him. "I get picked on...all the time. It's not very nice. No one deserves it."

He looked up and had to smile. Leave it to a teenage girl to get the best of him. Still, she didn't know Ferret Face, not the way he and BJ had. "Erin, before you get to feeling too sorry for him...he wasn't a nice man."

"He came to pay respects to Daddy, didn't he?"

.

"Erin, the only reason he came to Maine was to try to get Margaret back!" Hawkeye heard how he was sounding, and he hated himself, but there was still, after all those years, something about Frank that just...that just...irked him.

"Couldn't he have just called Miss Houlihan or written her a letter?"

"Erin.." he looked at his daughter. "Is there something really troubling you? Surely this all can't be about Frank and Margaret."

She looked down. "They had an affair, when he was married, right?"

He nodded. "That's right."

"His kids, he said they hate him."

"Well..." Not that he blamed them, but even Hawkeye knew better than to express that thought.

"Dad...the baby picture in Daddy's wallet...he and my mom were holding me. Did you and Daddy cheat on my mom?"

Hawkeye covered his mouth, his mind going about a million miles a minute. He'd always known this day would come. He'd just always assumed that it would be BJ to explain their situation to Erin, not him. "I...I...I don't know what to say."

"So you did," Erin still looked at him. God she was making this impossible.

"I...We didn't mean for it to happen...we didn't know we had those feelings for each other...hell, we didn't even know we could have feelings for another man, let alone each other. We didn't mean to fall in love, Erin. It just happened."

"Maybe...maybe that's why my mom is so mad. Maybe it's not me she's mad at. She might be mad at you."

"You're smart, kiddo. You understand people. Ever thought of becoming a doctor?" he smiled as he patted her hand,

She shook her head. "No offense, Dad. I like your friends and all...but they _are _weird."

they laughed, then the first of his friends, probably Radar, pulled in the driveway.

00000

So Margaret took a deep breath, and without saying a word to Frank, she stormed up to the front porch. The Gorens, the sign said. She had found Peg.

She knocked on the door, and it was a woman. Yes, even from BJ's old pictures, there was no doubt this was Peg. The Peg.

"Can I help you?" Peg smiled, not quite opening the door.

"We need to talk."

"Excuse me?"

"I was a friend of your husband's..."

"Roger never told me of any female...:"

Margaret shook her head. "Not that husband. I'm Margaret Houlihan, or as BJ might have referred to me, Hot Lips."

Peg started to shut the door, but Margaret put her hand in the doorway.

"Miss Houlihan, I'm sorry, but I don't have anything to say to you..."

"Oh, but I have plenty to say to _you. _Are you going to let me in, or do you want me to stand here and tell your story of how you abandoned your daughter because your ex-husband fell in love with a man?"

By then, Frank had walked up behind Margaret. "You'd better do what she says. If she says she'll do something, she means business."

Peg, looking around and seeing neighbor housewives gathering their laundry- their still wet laundry- from the clotheslines, and she knew she had no choice but to let these two "friends" of BJ's in her home.

As Margaret and Peg stared at each other, neither budging, Frank looked around. "I think I need to use the little boys' room..."

"Stay put, Frank." Margaret ordered. "I just may need you to keep me from doing something I'll regret to this...this...this poor excuse of a mother."

"Oh dear," Frank sighed, and suddenly he almost wished he was back in Korea.

tbc


	12. Chapter 12

Peg carefully examined the two strangers standing in her living room. "You're Margaret and Frank," she said plaintively.

Frank looked to Margaret.

"Yes, Peg, and I realize this might be as bad time..."

"A bad time?" Peg stared directly at Margaret. "You...you had an affair with this ...this man...BJ was right, he has no chin,"

Frank looked at his shoes, touching his chin. Margaret had a feeling she knew where Peg was going. "Now Peg..."

"Please," Peg rolled her eyes. "You two had an affair. Frank was a married man, were you not?"

Neither Frank nor Margaret could answer.

"And what's worse," Peg continued. "You had kids. How could you do that to another woman and her family, Margaret? Did it ever occur to you the pain that the knowledge that your spouse is having an affair, betraying not only you but your child or children? Well, did it?"

"She broke up with me," Frank chimed in. "I was selfish. I wanted Margaret but I wanted my family too. I don't blame her for leaving me."

"Well, congratulations on your level of forgiveness," Peg bitterly spat out. "I'm afraid I'm just not as _enlightened_ as you are."

Margaret started to speak, but Peg nodded at the couch. "Please, sit."

Both Margaret and Frank obeyed.

"Did your wife ever know what it was like to work, to hire a babysitter, to play housekeeper and plumber and maid all at once because you weren't around to do all that?"

"She had all those," Frank added, and Margaret gave him a severe nudge. "It didn't matter; I didn't really do any of those things even when I was home."

Peg looked at Margaret. "What were you thinking? I know he was a major and all..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, come on, Hot Lips. Even the wives back home knew about your...your attraction to power. Tell me, Hot Lips, was there a general in a fifty mile radius that you didn't..."

Margaret stood up and was about to do that one thing she asked Frank to prevent her from doing. Instead, he spoke up. "It wasn't like that. She wasn't like that."

"Frank, please, I can defend myself." Then Margaret turned to Peg. "You know what? Yes, I am woman enough to admit I have a past, one I'm not so proud of. But all I know is maybe or maybe not, you're a better woman than I. But I have to tell you...toots...as a mother, you blew it. Big time, sister. I do mean big time!" Margaret wagged her finger in Peg's face to emphasize her point.

"What? How dare you speak to me of my daughter!"

"What do you know of your daughter," Margaret questioned. "Do you know she's beautiful, tall, the spitting image of BJ, smart as a whistle?"

"No doubt," Peg admitted.

"Did you also know that your daughter sees counselors at school?"

"What?"

Margaret took Peg's hand as she sat back down beside her. "Peg, Erin's hurting. Big time. I know Hawkeye and BJ- you may have your opinions of them, and I don't blame you for being hurt. But to turn your back on your little girl when she needed you the most? That I do blame you for."

Peg looked down, tears in her eyes.

"Look, Peg, I'm sorry to have to tell you this. BJ- he wrote to me, asking for advice on how to explain a woman's cycle to his little girl. That should have been you talking to her, not some long lost friend from a war."

Now Peg was crying in earnest.

"If you want me to feel sorry for you, I won't..." Margaret stood up.

Peg looked up at her, tears and snot dripping down her still beautiful face. "What did I do to make BJ stop loving me? He promised me forever. He promised he'd come back and we'd make a dozen more babies. What's wrong with me that I turned my own husband...queer?"

"Peg, the only one who could have explained what happened was BJ. But now...now you'll never know, will you? Hawkeye...he's a good man if you just..."

"There's a special place in hell for Hawkeye Pierce," Peg exclaimed. "He...he has no soul. I don't want that pervert anywhere near my daughter."

"Frank, let's go before...before." But Margaret, before she left, took one last look at Peg. "By the way, your cookies you made and sent BJ every month...they were crap! Even the rats in the swamp wouldn't touch them!"

So Margaret stormed off, with Frank behind her, leaving Peg even more hurt and confused than ever.

tbc


	13. Chapter 13

Just as Radar and the rest of the gang were pulling up, Hawkeye looked up to the skies and smiled.

"Dad?" Erin touched his arm. "What are you thinking?"

He took a deep breath. "You remind me so much of Beej...your daddy. I was just thinking...the first time I met him..."

"It's okay if you want to talk about it. I heard about your friends back in Korea...but it would be nice to hear what you thought of my daddy. I know you loved him, of course. I just...I don't know, I'm not good with words the way you guys are. Were." Erin choked back tears, and the gang stayed back at a cautious distance.

.

"Your dad...I knew he was different the first time I'd met him. I was angry at my former best friend, Trapper. I was fully prepared not to like anyone who came along and tried to fill his boots," Hawkeye replied, transported to a very different time and place in his life.

"That might have been hard anyways. Didn't you always say that my daddy couldn't even fill a clown's shoes?" she smiled, reminding Hawkeye more and more of her daddy by the second.

Hawkeye's eyes met Erin's, and they both shared a good laugh through their tears. He nodded. "You got me again. The only one who could know what I was thinking before I said it was your daddy..."

Erin squeezed his hand, and with the gentle breeze blowing, they rocked back in forth on the porch swing for a minute for Hawkeye to regain his composure. "Anyways- your daddy- I wasn't sure he was cut out for Korea. Not that any of us were, really. But Beej...he was different."

"How so, Dad?"

"I mean...the first time we went out on a mission or something...we were in the line of fire, but we had to pull over and help the wounded."

"Yeah, you guys always looked out for each other."

"These people weren't our own, Erin. They were Koreans. 'the enemy.' But your dad...you might say he was in shock because of all the bl...because. He got so sick, so terribly sick. I couldn't help but feel bad for the guy."

"But you always said my daddy was brave!" Erin questioned,

"Look, Erin. There are many kinds of courage. Your dad was so green, but you know what...just knowing that he physically hated...HATED...violence earned him a lifetime of my respect. If you come in, guns blazing, ready to stop whoever's in your way by whatever force necessary...Let me tell you, I knew a few of those guys. But your daddy- it was clear he had a heart. Korean or American, I knew he always treated them as if they had their own Erin waiting for them back at home. That's when I knew your daddy would change my life..."Hawkeye smiled.

"There is one more question I have about my daddy..."Erin looked at her other dad. "What the heck was he thinking with that mustache?"

Hawkeye cracked up laughing. "That's a question for the ages, Erin. You know something...I've known your dad just about as long as you existed...but I'll be damned if he never told me what BJ stood for."

Suddenly Erin grew quiet. Now every ear was on alert, waiting for the answer to a decade and a half question.

"Benjamin John," Erin whispered.

Hawkeye looked at her. "What?"

She nodded. "I found his birth certificate. He said he didn't want to tell you...of course your name, but then there was your old friend, Trapper. His name was John, wasn't it?"

Hawkeye looked at Sidney, then back at his daughter. "Why wouldn't he tell me something like that? You mean I dedicated and shared my life with a guy who had my first name?"

"He said he didn't want you to think of Trapper every time you thought of him."

Every head was now bowed, and once again, leave it to Erin to keep on breaking everyone's hearts.

"Trapper was an important part of my past. I'm sorry...for the way our friendship ended. But I can see now that he left in order to make room for your daddy, and for you."

"Oh, Dad...I love you. Don't ever leave me," Erin started to cry again as Hawkeye held her in his arms.

"I promise you this...nothing will ever keep me from you. Nothing. I promise I'll love you and take care of you for the rest of my life."

0000

Little did they know that it wasn't a "thing" that would ever try to separate them. However, there was an insurance salesman's wife in Oklahoma on a plane to Crabapple Cove who definitely had her own agenda.

tbc


	14. Chapter 14

"I'll be..." Klinger whispered to Radar. "So BJ was a Benjamin too.."

Radar just smiled, trying hard not to cry.

"Hey, kid...did I upset you? I didn't mean to," Klinger continued. "It's just...just think...what are the odds of Hawkeye falling in love with someone with his own name?"

Charles chuckled. "Of course he would. Pierce always did think highly of himself. I am not surprised at all by this little twist."

Klinger looked at Charles. "Major...can I ask you a question?"

Charles rolled his eyes. "You _may _ask me a question."

The little grammar lesson was lost on Klinger. "Major, of course, now, I guess it makes sense...about Hawkeye and BJ. But what about you...what made you go that way?"

Charles looked at Sidney, rolled his eyes, then redirected his attention to Klinger. "I suppose it's far too complicated for you to understand...Let me try another approach...in Korea, you of all people wanted out of that hellhole more than all of us, myself included. Yet you stayed. Why?"

Klinger didn't even hesitate. "Because I fell in love."

"Was that what you had planned, on staying in Korea, all in the name of love?"

"Of course..."

One look from Charles convinced Klinger to rethink his answer. "I guess not. I wanted out so badly, I did everything- everything- to get out of there. But then I met Soon-Li and I knew she was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with."

"Even if it meant setting aside your plans for the end of the war?"

Klinger nodded. "I don't understand, sir."

"Klinger...Klinger...Klinger..." Charles took a deep breath. "The heart wants what it wants, can you comprehend that concept?"

Klinger nodded.

"I don't know why I am telling you this...certainly I'm under no obligation...but to be honest, Klinger...I know what you all thought of me back in Korea. I was standoffish, selfish, rude..."

"Not to mention a world class snob," Klinger's eyes widened as he realized that he'd actually vocalized his thoughts.

"My point is, Klinger- I could not allow myself to get close to you. To any of you. I'd carefully built this world for myself, which certainly had not included Korea or a cross-dresser who put more thought into what earrings to wear with what outfit than into his actual escape plan. Pierce, Hunicutt...they annoyed me; that is no secret, and rather quite an understatement. But this week I've come to realize something about myself. What I hated in them was something I resented about myself. They were carefree, free to be themselves, make fools out of themselves and anyone around them...they were actually_ happy _at times. In a war zone, for God's sake. While they were free to go about with their tomfoolery, I could not allow anyone to know me. The real me. My parents, may they rest in peace, never knew the truth about myself. I knew without a doubt they would disown and disinherit me."

Klinger stared and even Sidney watched, having never witnessed this side to Charles.

"The bottom line is this- sometimes we have to choose whether to follow our hearts or our conscience. I knew...I knew I could have lost everything I'd spent a lifetime building due to my love for my partner. I have lost patients, as well as potential grants. We've been denied housing. But the thing is...Klinger, if you had to choose between Toledo and Soon-Li in Korea, would you still do the same thing over again?"

"Without a doubt, sir."

Charles smiled. "Precisely."

Radar saluted Charles, and slowly, one by one, everyone gathered at the Pierce-Hunicutt residence followed suit. Even Erin and Hawkeye saluted Charles.

"Incoming!" Radar declared out of habit.

Everyone stopped and stared and watched in disbelief as two sheriff's cars pulled into the driveway.

Hawkeye stood up to see what was going on.

Four officers started up the driveway. Following them quite closely was none other than Peg, Erin's mother, and she held to display for all what appeared to be a stack of papers.

All jaws dropped and Erin clung tightly to her dad. "Dad...what's going on?"

"I don't know...but I'll tell you one thing...you're not leaving our home."

"Do you promise, Dad?" Erin asked through her tears.

_I sure hope so, _Hawkeye thought desperately as he suddenly felt quite sick to his stomach. Now he truly understood why BJ had reacted the way he had at his first taste of war.

tbc


	15. Chapter 15

As the officers and Peg proceeded to approach Hawkeye, Erin clung tight to her father. "Dad? What's going on here? Why is she here?"

Hawkeye put his arm around Erin. "Peg, if you've come to pay respect to BJ, the funeral was a few days ago. So I'd say you're a little late...six years, to be precise."

Peg rolled her eyes. "Save the dramatics, Dr. Pierce. Officer Johnson, please hand this notice to Dr. Pierce."

The officer obliged, and all eyes were upon Hawkeye as he read the notice. "What the hell...what is this? Are you...are you trying to take my daughter from me? You can't be serious, Peg."

She didn't even blink. "First of all, I'm not trying to take _your _daughter. I'm coming to take my daughter and give her the proper home she deserves."

Hawkeye looked around, wondering if this was some kind of joke. "Peg...a proper home? You abandoned your ten year old daughter. I have loved her and cared for her as if she were my own. Even better," he glared at Peg.

Peg looked at the officer. "Please instruct this pervert to remove his hands from my daughter. You heard him admit he's been loving my little girl."

Now everyone had to hold Hawkeye back, even Mulcahy and the officers. "Why...why...how DARE you insist I would ever...the fact that that thought even crossed your mind- and you sit here and call me a pervert in front of my daughter? You..."

"She's not yours, Hawkeye!" Peg yelled so loudly that everyone stopped and turned their attention to her. "Dr,. Pierce," she started, her voice dripping with venomous sarcasm. "I do appreciate your...your willingness to assist my late husband in raising Erin. But do to unfortunate situations beyond even your control..."

"Why you..."

"Dad?" Erin tearfully looked at Hawkeye. "Can't you make them go away? Isn't this, like, private property?"

"Erin, Dr. Pierce is not your dad. BJ was. I can't make up for his unfortunate life choices, but I can give you the family you deserve...I have a husband, Roger...you'd like him. He..."

"I don't want another dad! My daddy is dead and I don't want to hear about you wanting me to replace him! No one can. Not you, not your husband, not even Da,,.Hawkeye. But I love my dad here. Please, Mom..."

"Honey, Roger has sisters, brothers, They have children your own age. They are wonderful..."

Erin broke away from Hawkeye to face Peg. "You mean for the past six years you've chosen to be around kids my age, but yet you never called me , visited or written? Not even once?" With tears streaming down Erin's face, it was apparent there were not going to be any "winners" that day.

"Erin..." Peg sighed, "I don't have time to explain. You have a family waiting for you in Oklahoma. What does Hawkeye have? He's alone, and from what your dad told me, he lived in a pigsty in what was referred to as a Swamp. I cannot allow my daughter to be alone with a man without any family, who can't even take care of himself."

"He has family."

Everyone turned to stare at Klinger. "I'm his brother. I would be honored to help him raise his daughter."

Peg stared at the police. "Surely..."

Mulcahy spoke up. ":I'm his father." As he was wearing his collar, technically that was not a lie. "I, too, pledge my support in helping Hawkeye continue to raise Erin,"

Radar took his turn. "Ma'am, with all due respect...I'm Hawkeye's younger brother. I learned most of what I know about life from him. My wife, she'll tell you that me and my kids turned out okay. I, also, would be honored to pay back Hawkeye for being my brother by helping him with his daughter. With me, and Klinger too, we also have kids for Erin to play with. I even have a big farm, she can have a dog if she wants. Here, Erin..." he pulled out a wrapped box and handed it to Erin. "I bought you this. I … I hope it helps you."

There was barely a dry eye as Erin opened the gift to see a teddy bear. Obviously not _the _bear...Hawkeye didn't know whether to hug Radar or adopt him for life.

Officer Johnson looked at Sidney. "I suppose you're related to Dr. Pierce as well..."

Sidney took his place in line alongside the rest of the gang. "As a matter of fact, I am his wise uncle Sid."

Peg scoffed. "You guys cannot seriously allow this..."

Finally, to the shock of every person in that group who had served in Korea, Charles approached Officer Johnson. Hawkeye closed his eyes. God only knew what that pompous airbag had to say.

"Officer...Johnson, is it? Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dr. Charles Winchester the Third. A nationally renowned physician. My studies have been published at my graduate school. Perhaps you've heard if it- Harvard? Harvard?"

"Anyhow, gentlemen...you have my word as a gentleman that young Erin Hunicutt shan't be without family. You see, I am unable to have children of my own. But let me reassure you, as a world renowned physician, that should I have been able to, er, produce a child of my own, there is," he closed his eyes and took a breath.. "There is no other physician in this world that I would entrust the care of said child to than Dr. Pierce. I say that not only as a fellow doctor...you see, I, too, am his brother."

Hawkeye couldn't believe what was going on. Maybe the others he could have counted to step up to the plate for him...but Charles?

Peg turned to Officer Johnson. "These are sweet sentiments, and they mean well, I'm sure. But they are not family in any way. They only served in Korea together for heaven's sake!"

She turned and smiled smugly at Hawkeye. "Erin, please go pack your bags."

Johnson put his hand in the air. "Ma'am, did you say these gentlemen all served in Korea?"

She sighed. "Yes. Come on, Erin."

Officer Johnson took off his hat. "Ma'am, with all due respect...I, too, served in Korea. I had a leg injury, thought I'd never be able to walk again. It was a doctor in one of those MASH units that saved my leg, possibly my life."

The other officers turned to stare at him. "What's going on? Surely you don't think a little girl belongs with a,..with a homosexual."

"That's not my call. My duty is to enforce the law in the proper procedure. I do see a mistake written on this notice. The date appears to have been filled in incorrectly. Ma'am...two things. Number one- I don't care if you serve a day, a week, a month or a year overseas with a total stranger. When in war, these strangers are your family, and shall be for the rest of your life. Number two, it is not my job to say who's right and who's wrong here. If I were you I'd get a good lawyer and call that husband of yours to tell him you might not be home to make his dinner."

He left, with the other, very confused officers behind.

Peg stared at Hawkeye with all of the hurt, all of the anger, all of the disappointments BJ had put her through throughout their marriage. She shook her head and said one thing before she left.

"You will be hearing from my attorney. Good day, Dr, Pierce."

With that, the entire formation of some of the former members of the MASH unit 4077 stood side by side.

"My daddy would have loved a picture of this," Erin said, still clinging to the teddy bear Radar had just given her.

"Yes, he would have," Hawkeye agreed. "Yes, he would have."

tbc


	16. Chapter 16

Erin had went into the house to pour everyone some lemonade, and Hawkeye took Charles aside.

"Charles..." he struggled to find the right words. "What you did for me back there...I gotta ask...why? You and I always had our differences. You thought it was BJ's and my own personal mission to make your life in Korea as miserable as possible. I get why you came to the funeral, now...but brother?"

Charles smiled. "Pierce, I will not deny that you two did add just a _bit _of misery to an incomprehensible miserable situation. However...I have my reasons for doing what I just did. Do not pry, and trust that they were not an admission of respect on my part."

Hawkeye just shook his head. Yeah, it would take an act of a God whom Hawkeye was highly doubtful existed for Charles to be anything less than...Charles.

Radar tapped Hawkeye on the arm. "Hawkeye, I don't want to alarm you...but there's a police car pulling in your driveway."

How much more could he take?

"Erin..."Hawkeye called out. "Can you just stay put for a second?"

"Dad?"

"It's okay. Just stay in the kitchen!"

With that, Hawkeye, followed by his potpourri of a surrogate family, started marching up the driveway to meet the police, whatever they wanted this time.

"What do you want?" Hawkeye demanded. "I'm not trying to tell you how to do your job, God forbid...but aren't there little mom-and-pop diners whose coffee mugs needs inspected..."'

Slowly the officer revealed himself. To the gang's surprise, it was Officer Johnson, and he was alone.

"Pardon me for barging in on your property, Dr. Pierce. But there is something I've been waiting a long, long time to say to you."

Hawkeye's 4077 family following, they all were surprised to see the officer remove his hat and extend his hand to Hawkeye.

"Dr. Pierce, is it?"

"Yes, I believe that's the name on the summon you just tried to deliver me. Forgive me for not being neighborly, but I kind of have this thing about people threatening to take my little girl away from me. I don't know, call it a quirk of mine."

"Dr. Pierce, May I take the trouble to ask you a question..."

"Don't I have the right to remain quiet or whatever?"

Charles laughed. "In your case it may not be a matter of rights but rather ability."

"Sir," Johnson started. "I mean no disrespect. And I understand why you might feel the need to be pretty darn mad at me. But Dr, I wasn't the one who filed those papers."

Hawkeye sighed. "What's your question..."

"Mrs. Goren...she and your friends referred to you as Hawkeye, is that correct?"

"I feel like I need a lawyer!"

Johnson smiled. "I never was good at math...I never put two and two together until I was driving away...I had my partners drive Mrs. Goren to a hotel, but in the meantime...I had to stop by my mom's, get out the letters she'd saved from me from the war..."

He presented the letter, faded yet the words came across loud and clear. "You talk about a crazy surgeon named Hawkeye..."

Pierce looked at him. "I...I'm sorry. We saw so many young men back then..."

Johnson nodded. "Read on, sir."

Suddenly all eyes were on Hawkeye as so many levels of emotions registered on his face. "Your leg injury you told us about...I did the arterial transplant on your leg, didn't I?" He covered his mouth, to keep from laughing or crying- or both.

"I was kind of in and out of it. I remember people coming to me and telling me what a hero you were. If it weren't for you, I would have lost a leg, or worse, bled out."

Mulcahy looked up to the sky and gave a silent prayer of confirmation that yes, miracles still occurred.

"Anyways, Dr. Pierce," Johnson continued. "I don't really recall too much of my time in your unit. I have these letters to mom, and she asked me how much morphine I was on, because I kept talking about a 'Dr. Hawkeye.' She said no real doctor in the world would call himself Hawkeye. No offense, Dr. Pierce."

Charles so badly wanted to say something, but as the disapproving glances of Sidney and Mulchay struck him, he thought better of it.

"Dr. Pierce, I got home, studied the bible, and met myself a nice, honest church going lady. We have a couple of beautiful little girls. I myself, I can't say one way or the other what the right thing to do for young Miss Hunicutt would be. I just...I just been doing some real thinking, and the best that I can come up with is- that God puts the knowledge in you fine doctors' heads for a reason. Who am I to question the God that gave you the ability and smarts to save this American's life?"

"Officer...those documents..." Hawkeye started.

"She said it was a three. Looked like an 8 to me. Who knows? Hard to tell in the light of day," Johnson shrugged.

He started to turn to walk away, but gave Hawkeye one last look. "Thank you, Dr. All of you. You never know how us poor patients back in the war just might turn out. Godspeed, all of you."

Just then Erin came out to the porch with a fresh pitcher of lemonade. "Dad? Did I miss something?"

Hawkeye wanted to explain what had just happened. But then images of young men, boys, children, hurt, injured...bloodied and war-torn came to his mind. "No, Erin. You did not miss a thing at all."

tbc


	17. Chapter 17

At first it started with a laugh. Hawkeye, still trembling with that weird, mysterious, unearthly-impossible chance encounter with a man who's leg he hadn't even been the one to sign up to save.

It had been that doctor. That doctor he'd met with Trapper on a break, the one who'd shown up half-invited and completely unexpected at their front door. He'd been so drunk, so drunk.

Drunk. The still. Trapper. Henry. Meeting BJ. The end of the war. The chicken. The goddammed chicken. Losing his mind. Finding love with BJ. Getting to become a parent, which was the one thing he hadn't planned on happening in his life. The drunk...the drunk who killed BJ...Suddenly he became awash with the realization that he'd lost his best friend and life partner all over again, this time for good.

As he hit his knees, everyone at first thought he was still laughing.

Radar, ever the perceptive one, nudged Klinger, who nudged Charles, who looked at Mulcahy. By that point all eyes were on Sidney.

Hawkeye wasn't laughing anymore.

Erin's eyes widened as she watched the only other person on earth-besides her beloved daddy- who'd loved her unconditionally most of her life- well, she watched at that same, happy, funny strange person who went from "uncle" to "dad" in a relatively short period of time- she, too, watched as Hawkeye broke down in uncontrollable sobs.

Apparently the Incident was also still just as fresh as the day it had occurred, both in Hawkeye's slowly unraveling mind and in the eyes of Sidney.

Erin had seen her dad cry a few times, sure. There had only been a few arguments that she could recall between her fathers ever since Hawkeye came to live with them. And even rarer was the times when those daddies went to bed mad, but at separate times in the night woke her up in the middle of the night with their tears.

But no matter how bad, how heated, how ugly the fights had been, someone, usually her daddy, would crack a bad joke at the breakfast table, and before any word could be said, like magic- the anger and animosity would quickly turn to bursts of laughter.

Her daddy was not there to make her other dad laugh now.

So she sat down beside Hawkeye and everyone watched, wondering, unsure of what to do.

"Radar-" Erin looked up and calmly but quietly spoke up. "I hope you don't mind...but I kind of drew a mustache on my teddy bear. It was kind of fuzzy anyways."

Just as quickly as the tears had started, Hawkeye stopped. He looked at Erin, and knew that as long as he had her in his life, he'd always at least half of BJ.

By far, half was better than nothing.

He wiped his face the best he could, with Charles offering him a handkerchief; Hawkeye turned to his daughter. "Thank you for being you, kiddo."

"Dad? Is it...is it okay if I give you a hug?"

Hawkeye, using his best, over the top, dramatic voice...simply replied. "Gee, I thought you'd never ask."

As the group smiled (largely out of relief) and started to quietly laugh to relieve their own tension, suddenly a car pulled up in the driveway.

"Don't worry, sir...I mean, Hawkeye. It's just Major Houlihan and Major Burns." Radar informed him.

As if a tornado somehow had manage to follow Margaret and Frank back from their trip to Oklahoma, Hot Lips, bursting with energy, ran to Hawkeye.

"Hawkeye...Hawkeye..." she laughed so hard her face was actually glowing. "You'll never guess what I just did..."

TBC


	18. Chapter 18

"What, what, don't tell me- you crazy kids went off and did something crazy. Like getting married. Or worse, falling in love," Hawkeye teased in his trademark exaggerated tone of voice.

Everyone looked, then finally Charles spoke up. "Margaret? Are you smiling? You're smiling. He"- Charles nodded at Frank. "He's smiling." Then he looked at Hawkeye, whose eyes met with Margaret's. "Pierce," Charles continued. "Are you smiling too? Will somebody please tell me what's with all the smiling?"

"There's no smiling," Margaret grinned at Frank, then at Hawkeye. "Hawkeye, do you see any smiling?"

"Nope," he grinned knowingly. "No smiling here."

"Anyways, Margaret, what did you crazy duo do this time?"

"It wasn't Frank. He just went along for the ride. No comments, Pierce," Margaret looked at him, then couldn't contain her joy. "Frank and I...we went to Oklahoma!"

Suddenly there was most definitely not a smile on Hawkeye's face anymore. "You what?"

She continued in a manic flash of enthusiasm. "I went to Peg. I found her..."

"You WHAT?"

"I found her, and boy, did I give that woman a piece of my mind! I let her have it too, Pierce. You should have seen the look on her face when I gave that woman a talking to she'll never forget...Hawkeye...Erin...what's going on? I thought you'd be proud of me."

"Margaret, do you have any idea of what you've done?" Hawkeye shouted. "You led Peg directly to my front door. And it wasn't to pay her respects. She came with the police. Margaret, Peg's trying to take Erin from me! God...do you know what you've done?!"

Everyone grew quiet as Margaret searched every face, finding confirmation of what he'd just accused her of doing.

"Pierce," Frank spoke up. "I think you're being unfair to Margaret."

"You would, Frank. Butt out, will you."

"Frank, I am a grown woman. I don't need a man to protect me, even when I'm so clearly wrong..." Margaret chimed in.

"No!" Frank yelled, and all eyes were on him. "I mean...you all did all the talking in Korea. Now it's my turn. Margaret, I know better than any one here how strong you are, how you don't need a man. You always told me you never really needed me. But I think here ...well, I'm sorry, Margaret, in my eyes you'll always be a lady, and every lady needs their honor defended now and then."

Everyone there looked at each other in total confusion.

"Margaret only went there to let Peg know what she'd missed out on. On how good Erin turned out. On how good you...Nertz. Never mind."

Frank turned around. Margaret started to follow him, but was met with a stern "Just leave me alone. All of you."

No one knew what to say. Just when Margaret couldn't feel any lower...

Suddenly, before anyone could speak, not two but four police cars pulled up in front of Hawkeye and Erin's home.

"Officer Johnson..." Hawkeye tried to lighten up the mood. "I guess it's true, everyone does love a parade!"

Hawkeye looked, and none of the officers were laughing. Not a bit. "Get it, a parade...a parade...you're not here to swamp war stories, are you?"

Johnson could not even look directly at Hawkeye as he handed him papers. "Dr. Pierce, I have an order to restore custody of Erin Hunicutt to her mother, effective immediately."

"What? But just an hour ago..."

"Dr. Pierce, this injunction was signed by a judge. We have no choice but to enforce this. Dr. Pierce, you are hereby ordered to return custody of Erin Hunicutt to her mother, under the fulfillment of the fullest penalty of the law."

"What's that mean?" Hawkeye looked around. "What's that mean? Are you threatening to arrest me..."

Officer Johnson nodded but still wouldn't make eye contact with Hawkeye, the man who'd saved his life during the war.

"Daddy?" Erin began to cry.

"You're not taking my daughter!"

"According to the law..."

"The hell with the law! Erin is my daughter. Where was Peg for the past six years when Erin scraped her knee after falling off her bicycle? Where was she when she became a young lady, for heaven's sake? Who bought her her first training bra? Where was Peg Goren," he spat bitterly. "the afternoon of her daughter's biological father's funeral? Where? Where have you been? Let me tell you something, Peg. I was there for her. BJ, I understand why you hated him as a husband. But a father...no man woman or animal alive could equal his ability and willingness to love and care for and protect his daughter."

Suddenly a couple of officers, one carrying a set of handcuffs, approached Hawkeye.

"No!" Erin screamed through tears. "I'll go. I'll go. Just leave my dad alone! Please, Mom, don't do this. You know Daddy wouldn't want this. I don't want this. Please just don't take him to jail!" Erin pleaded.

"Erin, you don't have to do this...let them arrest me. I've been to war; jail doesn't scare me much, I'm afraid."

"Dad...I love you," Erin sobbed, then was escorted in by a couple of officers inside her home to gather her belongings.

It took the force of all of Hawkeye's comrades to prevent him from going after Erin, from going after Johnson, to going after...anyone, really.

Finally the officers presented Erin to Peg, and only Erin was the one to look back as she was driven away from the only other person in her entire life as her dead daddy had.

tbc


	19. Chapter 19

All eyes were on Hawkeye as he started to walk to his house. Before he entered, however, he did manage to glare at Margaret. Normally loquacious would be an appropriate word to describe Hawkeye, but at that moment, looks were the only way he could express himself. It wasn't a nice look. He slammed the door behind him, and the rest of the gang all looked at themselves, wondering if they could do anything.

"This ain't fair!" Klinger protested. "Hawkeye is one of the best men I'd ever known. I mean, if something should happen to me, Allah forbid, but I'd be honored if he helped Soon-Li raise our kids."

No one could say anything, but Charles managed to smile at Klinger, his one time...source of frustration, to put it nicely.

"That's a nice sentiment, Klinger," Sidney spoke up.

"I mean, I wouldn't have to worry about him messing around with my wife!" Klinger continued. Charles walked away, simple awed at how simple Klinger had been, and apparently, always would be.

"What, I didn't mean it like that..."

"Klinger," Sidney sighed. "I don't know about you all, but how about the rest of us go out for an iced tea. I don't know about you, but that sure sounds nice right about now."

Then Sidney turned to Margaret, who was headed towards her car. "You're welcome to join us too, Margaret," he smiled kindly.

Tearfully, she declined. "I think I've done enough damage for the day. I need some...will you be in town for a few more days?"

Radar, Klinger and Sidney all nodded.

"I'll be at the hotel on 57. I'll...I'll be in touch." With that, Margaret went to open her door.

As she entered her car, she threw her purse on the passenger seat, and the keys flew out onto the floor. She let out a small scream of frustration, and went to retrieve them.

As she did, something on the passenger seat caught her eye. It was a box- what appeared to be a jewelry box. Curiously she opened it, and gasped at the content.

It was a ring. An engagement ring. How...what...how in the world...what was that doing in her car?

Then she looked at herself in the rearview mirror. The only passenger in her car as of late had been Frank. Surely he couldn't...he wouldn't have...he couldn't.

She looked closely, and examined it closely. It was an engagement ring, all right. The diamond wasn't much, but it looked practically new. Upon closer inspection ( a side to her personality that had driven all of her nurses crazy over the years) she saw that it was engraved.

The lettering was quite small. But still.

_Margaret. The only one for me. Fran._

Fran? She covered her mouth, trying not to cry or to laugh. That Frank. He'd been too cheap to have them add on a k on his name! She looked at it again, laughing through her tears, only this time she saw the date.

It was dated fifteen years a year after the war ended. My God, had he been holding on to that ring for fifteen years? What in the world had he been thinking? He did say he'd been divorced for some time. That his oldest daughter, Janet, was married now and going to be a mother...she'd been what, seven or eight at the time of her relationship with Frank?

What kind of man held on to a ghost of a love affair for fifteen years?

As the tears, out of exhaustion from the past week or two, finally hit and started flowing freely, it occurred to her what kind of man Frank Burns was.

He was a man in love. And more importantly, that woman he was in love with for close to two decades, was her, Margaret.

She covered her mouth with her hand, took a minute to compose herself, and she knew what she had to do. Frank was only a few hotel rooms down from hers. She didn't care how long she'd have to wait to get him to talk to her. She was a woman on a mission yet again. She messed up with Hawkeye and Erin, big time. The guilt she felt was too much, too, too much to take in. At least for that moment.

So for the time being, she set herself up for plan B.

She would get Frank Burns to propose to her, if it was the last thing she did. And this time, she'd be damned if she made a mess of things yet again.

tbc


	20. Chapter 20

"Frank!" Margaret pounded on the hotel room door, laughing, screaming and suddenly more scared than she'd ever been in her entire life. She'd survived Korea, the Army, divorce, loss of loved ones (If only Colonel Potter were here to see this day-she wondered if he would have laughed or tried to knock some sense of her. Knowing him, probably a little of both. May he rest in peace, that blessed, sweet, kind, lovely man.)

"I'm not here!" Frank yelled, although she could clearly see him peeking through the curtain.

"Frank, it's okay,!" she laughed. "I'm here because...because..."

"Go away!" This time at least he closed the curtains.

"Frank Burns, if you don't open this door, I will...I will...I'll pound this door down myself! And don't think I won't do it, either!"

He came out of the room, hands in the air. She laughed.

"Frank, come on, this isn't war. You don't have to do that."

"Isn't it?"

She wanted to argue, but again, as she'd just come to realize how she wasn't perfect, how even the best of intentions on her part backfired more often than she'd cared to admit to. "Frank, come on. I ...I need to ask you something."

Frank's eyes widened as he watched Margaret fall to one knee. "Marga..Margaret?" he stammered, more confused than ever.

He wasn't the only one confused. It wasn't what she'd planned for all of her life. It was the man, always the man, who was supposed to do this. But she supposed that since they'd never taken the easy way, why not? "Frank...I need to ask you a question. This isn't...I love you, Frank," she whispered breathlessly. "I know, I know I hurt you over and over again. I guess...well, there's no sense in going over our mistakes, now is there?"

"Good grief, Margaret. What in the world has gotten into you? Did you fall? Did you hurt yourself or something..."

"Frank, I've never been so more sincere in my life. Are you going to let me do this or not?" she screamed in frustration, well aware of the crowds that had been forming around them.

"How am I supposed to know if I'm going to let you do something if I don't know what it is you're trying to do in the first place?" Frank wondered.

"You...you..you ferret face! I'm trying to ask you to marry me, damn it!"

He looked at her, and she was starting to get up. He took her hand. "Did..I know Pierce hates me. Did he set you up to this," Frank asked seriously.

"No. For that matter, Pierce hates me more than he ever could you. But right now...all I know is that I love you. I know that you're the only man for me, God help me," she laughed. "I love you, Frank Burns. You make me mad, you have made me cry, you make me laugh, you make me angry."

"And you love me? Why?"

She stood up and pulled the ring out from her pocket. "Frank, tell me the truth. Did you really buy this after the war?"

"I...Yes. I know, that was stupid of me, right?" he sighed.

"Actually," she murmured. "I think that's the most romantic thing any man's ever done for me."

The tone of her voice brought him back to all the good times they'd shared, mostly in her tent. At times they were the other's only friend. They fought, sure, but he had loved her. Lord, how he loved that woman.

"Oh, Margaret," he giggled as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Oh, Frank," she sighed contently.

"Margaret, I can't believe this! We're really getting married?" Frank asked excitedly.

"It depends."

He looked down. Of course, this would be too good to be true.

"It depends on if you answer my question!" with her free hand, she guided his chin up gently so they looked each other in the eyes.

"Oh boy. Oh boy. Oh boy," he giggled. It didn't matter how many gray hairs he now had, it didn't matter how he'd never lost that childish laugh that had made him the butt of so many jokes in Korea. His eyes were just as blue as the sky, as blue as she'd ever been. Boy, she'd never seen blue like that in all of her life.

"Well?" a couple of strangers shouted as the crowd started whispering amongst themselves.

He looked around nervously, but then, as always, Margaret was there to help him when he felt most nervous. "yes, Margaret. I want to marry you. I can't believe you want to marry me!"

She inched closer to him. "Oh, I do, Frank. I do want to marry you."

They looked at each other, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Frank Burns, and Margaret Houlihan- ex-lovers, foes, army comrades...had just gotten engaged.

"How's about you two kids get yourselves a room," some wiseacre yelled out.

Margaret turned around, faced the guy, and gave him a huge smile. "That's exactly what we plan to do, right after Frank puts this ring on my hand."

Frank, still being Frank, grabbed her right hand.

"The other one! The other one!" Margaret whispered impatiently.

As he took her left ring finger, she stopped him. "Wait! This says Fran. I can't marry someone named Fran! Why in the world wouldn't you write your full name?"

"You complete me. I couldn't finish this until I found you again. Now I can complete the ring," Frank answered, a bit self-conscious from all the attention from the crowds.

To the joy and cheering of the strangers surrounded them, Frank pulled Margaret close to him, and as their lips met, for once in his life, he didn't really care what the world of him. He had Margaret, and that was all he needed to live on for the rest of his life.

tbc


	21. Chapter 21

Sidney took a deep breath, a few steps forward, and knocked three times on Hawkeye and BJ's front porch.

It was a nice home, simple and modest yet by all means, a far cry from the days of the Swamp. He looked to the right, above the address numbering, and smiled.

_Home._

It was a simple sign, but still...yes, of course, Sidney knew better than most how the world viewed homosexuality. He himself had been taught to believe it a mental disorder and treat it as such. But somehow, in some way, he'd slowly begun to question the teachings of his profession that had served him fairly well his entire life.

He knocked again. "Hawkeye, its me," Sidney called out quietly. "I'm alone."

"They're gone?" Hawkeye questioned.

"Of course."

"Good. Why don't you do us both a favor and join them. Buh-byyyeee..." Hawkeye called out, reminding Sidney all the more of the end of the war and what Hawkeye had been through.

"I'm still here, Hawkeye. I'm not going anywhere. I hope you don't mind if I pitch the tent in your backyard for the night."

"Go away! What part of go away don't you understand?" Hawkeye shouted, clearly becoming more emotional by the minute.

Sidney said nothing. He took a deep breath, and just waited. Retired, his kids away, nearly graduating from college...his wife had taken to volunteer work lately. So time wasn't the issue here.

"Stop! Stop being you! I hate when you do that..."Hawkeye cried out. "Just go away. Everyone else got smart. You think you're smart, you think you're better than us because of your education...if you were so smart, why can't you see that all I really want is to be left alone?" 

Even a stray cat giving birth sounded less pitiful than Sidney's friend was beginning to seem.

"Is that what you want?" Sidney replied calmly.

Hawkeye flung open the door and faced his friend. "What I want is to have my partner and best friend, the man who made me laugh and cry and his daughter, the two people who shared their lives with me back in our home where they belong. Can you bring BJ back, Sid? Can you promise me that if I'm really good and mind my p's and q's, that one day after Erin turns eighteen she'll look me up and we'll catch up? That she'll never forget how much her daddy loved her? That she'll never forget how much I loved her? Can you?"

With that, an emotionally and physically exhausted fell against Sidney, who said nothing, but patted his back and let Hawkeye get out what he needed to get out.

Finally, after what had seemed to be an eternity to Hawkeye, he pulled back and wiped his face. "Sid, I'm sorry...I don't know what to say..."

"What if I were to tell you that I have a plan? A pl..."

Hawkeye eagerly grabbed Sidney by the arms. "A plan? What the hell are you talking about- a plan? Does this involve Erin in any way?"

Sidney smiled and nodded. "You might say that."

"Don't play cryptic with me now, Sid. What's going on? For the love of God..."

"Hawkeye, what I have in mind...let's just say it's a bit, em, unorthodox."

"Hello, have we met?"

They both shared a smile.

"You could make history, you know."

"BJ always said I could do anything I put my mind to...except for shutting up, which is neither here nor there. But I digress. What do I have to do?"

"How much do you love Erin Hunnicutt?"

"More than life itself! Come on, what's going on?" Hawkeye demanded.

"I appreciate your opening the door for me. You still haven't offered me a drink," Sidney smiled in that gentle, knowing, ever patient way of his.

.

"A drink?" Suddenly for the first time since BJ's passing, Hawkeye actually asked. "Drinks are on me. And if your plan-which I know nothing about- works-whatever it is- Everything I own will be on me. Come on in."

So as Hawkeye and Sidney lifted their glasses, Sidney couldn't help but observe all of the photos of BJ, Erin and Hawkeye, individually, decorating the house. Sad, really, that that little family of Hawkeye's couldn't even get their family photo taken together. More than ever, Sid knew that what he was going to propose was crazy, probably the craziest idea of his entire life. But, as Hawkeye and BJ and their other 4077 brothers and sisters had taught Sidney all those years ago, sometimes it was possible something so crazy it just might work.

For Hawkeye and Erin's sake, it had better.

tbc


	22. Chapter 22

As the members of the 4077 gathered at Hawkeye's home, they each turned to one another, wondering why he'd called them there so suddenly. Of course, they didn't mind. The thing about their family, unlike most "ordinary" families, was that in good times and in bad, they were there for one another.

Even Margaret and Frank had gotten the call. Frank was hesitant to go, but Margaret convinced him that Hawkeye's invitation had been for him as much, if not more, for her as well.

Finally, once the mishmash-ed family gathered on the porch, Hawkeye opened the door, inviting them in one by one.

When Margaret found her way to Hawkeye, they looked at each other cautiously. Finally she spoke up. "I'm so sorry, Hawkeye," Margaret sighed. "I don't' know what I was..."

"Margaret, it's okay. They did call you Hot Lips for a reason. Here all along I had assumed it was because of your first date protocol, but …."

He watched as Frank and Margaret exchanged nervous glances. Then, right there, Hawkeye saw it. There was a ring on Margaret's left hand, and there was no doubt what kind of ring it was.

He put his hand on her shoulder. "Margaret? Is there something you want to tell me?"

All eyes were on them. "Hawkeye, I really am sorry. I know how much you love Erin..."

He lifted her hand in the air for all to see. "Not that. Now's not the time, Margaret. Is this...Is this a ring on your finger or are my poor eyes finally deceiving me?"

Everyone, just looking at the expression of joy that came across Frank's face, knew. They all knew. After all this time, Frank Burns had finally gotten the girl.

Charles spotted the frozen look on Margaret's face, so he approached her and kissed her on both cheeks. Then he turned to Frank.

"Doctor, may I be the first to offer my congratulations. I don't say this easily...but I can tell you one thing about Mahg-ar-ette..." He looked at her, then back at Frank. "You did well for yourself. Margaret is a lady, in every sense of the word."

Margaret blushed and grinned, and she was about to thank Charles when Frank blurted out "Have you seen Margaret when she's mad?"

Hawkeye was the first to break out laughing, then everyone else, even good old Stuffy Charles Winchester The Third, joined in.

"You know...you know who would have loved this? He'd a-never believed it for a million years- but no one would have loved this moment more than BJ himself," Hawkeye sighed, and the room was once again filled with tension. "He loved his family more than anything. We all know how he was in Korea when it came to Peg, and especially Erin. It wasn't the easiest thing I ever had to do, facing Peg after Beej and I realized we were...we were..." Hawkeye took a breath. "But it was by far, the best decision I had to make. BJ...BJ...he, he..."

Margaret offered her arms to Hawkeye. "It's okay, Hawk. We know. We know. You two...well...you two were something else."

Hawkeye nodded. "Margaret..."

"I'm sorry, Hawkeye. The ring. I forgot...Frank, that's not what I meant...its just that I'm sure that you probably think this is the worst timing for Frank and I to decide...to..."

"Margaret," Hawkeye interrupted her. "Do you love Frank?"

She grinned and didn't hesitate. "I do."

"Geez, Margaret, I'm not officiating a ceremony here. That's something only Father..." then all eyes went to Mulcahy, who just looked around, not quite sure of what to say.

"That's perfect," Hawkeye grinned, feeling suddenly very inspired. "You'll marry them, won't you, Father..."

"Well, I..."

"It makes sense. You're here. They're here. Hell, we're all here. What do you say...Margaret, I know you always wanted to be a June bride..."

Margaret looked at him, then looked at Frank. "Well..I wouldn't' want to be a bother to anyone..."

"It's no bother, Major," Klinger grinned. "I would lend you my dress but I'm afraid, for some reason, Soon-Li won't part with it."

They all laughed. "A wedding!" Mulcahy smiled. "God certainly does have a rather, er, strange, sense of humor."

Sidney looked at Hawkeye. "Is there something you wanted to share with the gang?"

Hawkeye grinned. "You guys and ladies had better hold on to your hats. I'm getting Erin back!" he exclaimed proudly.

They all exchanged puzzled looks.

"It's okay. It's okay. Sidney and I...we came up with a plan..." Hawkeye couldn't help but contain his excitement. "I'm going to file for custody of Erin!"

Frank was the only one clueless to point out that he wasn't Erin's father.

Even Margaret looked down, afraid to hear what Hawkeye had to say to his one-time nemesis.

tbc


End file.
